A Book of Bees

by Potthoff, Sam; Hubbell, Sue;

  Supersedure cell. A queen cell, often midway down a frame of brood.

  Swarm. A group of bees with a queen that has split away from a parent colony to fly off and establish itself in a new place.

  Swarm cell. A queen cell, often at the bottom of a frame, that is a possible indicator that bees are raising new queens to accompany them when the colony swarms. There are usually several of them at a time.

  Tanging. Making a loud noise, usually by beating metal against metal, in order to supposedly bring down a swarm of bees flying overhead.

  Telescoping cover. The usual overtopping cover to a beehive employed by all but migratory beekeepers, who use cleated covers instead.

  Worker bees. The majority of bees in a colony. They are females with atrophied sexual characteristics who gather nectar and pollen, manufacture propolis, raise young bees, defend the hive, build comb and tend the queen.

  Acknowledgments

  The idea for this book came from Pam Strickler, an editor at Ballantine Books, and I want to thank her for suggesting it. But, in addition, it would not have been written had not Liz Darhansoff, my agent, known when to speak and who should not speak of it. Jean-Isabel McNutt at Random House has contributed to the book; she has enormous zest for locating obscure source material and a good sense of what my writing style should be.

  A number of people have read the manuscript and made fine suggestions: Asher Treat, Liddy and Brian Hubbell and Arne Sieverts were all helpful.

  The Hockman brothers, Dwain and David, helped with the descriptions of tools. Hugs, guys.

  Index

  ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, The, 25–26, 58

  acanthus, 151

  Actaeon, 60

  aerial sprayers, 137–38

  Africanized bees, 72–73

  Agriculture Department, U.S., 57, 154

  alfalfa, 27, 137–38

  allergies, 31, 65, 148

  American Bee Journal, 38

  American Foulbrood, 7, 71–72, 74, 86

  andromedotoxin, 147

  anemia, 158

  antennae, bee, 111

  antibiotics, 53, 74

  anti-freeze, 157

  antihemorrhaging factor, 158

  ants, 130, 156

  apiculture, see beekeeping

  Apis mellifera (sweet bee), see bees

  Apollo, 59

  Aristaeus, 53, 58–60

  Aristotle, 53

  armyworms, 138

  Artemis, 60

  arthritis, 30, 65, 159

  Asophaera apis, 77

  asters, 6–7, 16, 51

  Autonoë, 60

  autumn, beekeeping in, 3–34

  Bacillus larvae, 71

  bacteria, 7, 71–72, 74, 158

  Bailey, Leslie, 73

  baling twine, 7, 14, 15

  balling, 100, 106, 113

  bears, 157

  bee blowers, 164–65

  bee brushes, 161–62

  bee dance, 58, 130

  bee escapes, 162–63

  bee glue, 16, 20

  Bee Go, 164

  beekeeping:

  advantages of, 3–4

  advice on, 109

  in autumn, 3–34

  busy schedule of, 141–42, 144–45, 151

  carpentry in, 14, 24–25, 40

  classical references to, 53–55, 58–60, 148, 158

  commercial, 20, 22, 51–52, 88, 110, 133

  definition of, 25, 57

  in different climate zones, 51–52, 53, 132–33

  equipment for, 7, 38–46

  as farming, 4, 26

  fundamentals of, 37–46

  god of, 53, 58–60

  jokes about, 4–5

  manuals on, 11, 25–26, 57–58

  migratory, 14

  in northern areas, 51–52

  organizations for, 132, 135, 136, 138

  in Ozarks, 6, 46, 107, 116

  pesticides and, 67, 130, 136–39, 141, 148

  recordkeeping in, 7, 23, 75, 76, 80, 83, 91, 114, 118

  research for, 153–54

  in rock paintings, 49

  routine of, 76–79, 141–42, 144–45, 151

  seasonal changes and, 5, 6

  in spring, 63–124

  in summer, 6, 8, 49, 127–73

  supply companies for, 14, 37–39, 58, 75

  techniques of, 37–46, 52–53

  vocabulary of, 8–9

  weather conditions and, 14, 26, 51–52, 53, 132–33, 143–44

  Western desert, 132

  in winter, 8, 23, 37–60

  women, 24–26

  see also bees

  “Beekeeping for Women,” 25–26

  Beekeeping in the Midwest (Jaycox), 58

  Bee-Man of Orn, The (Stockton), 58

  bee repellent, 163–64

  bees:

  Africanized, 72–73

  aggressiveness of, 130, 143–44

  antennae of, 111

  attitudes toward, 4–5, 32, 48, 75–76, 101, 129

  brood of, 7, 65–66, 71–72, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 86, 104, 105, 112, 114, 137

  as carbohydrate feeders, 64

  castes of, 20

  Caucasian race of, 107

  chemical markings of, 20–22, 106, 111, 113, 144

  cleanliness of, 17, 18, 22, 47–48, 79, 87

  cleansing flights of, 47–48

  clusters of, 51, 81, 104, 130

  cocoons of, 65

  colors as perceived by, 88–89

  communication by, 58, 111, 130

  dampness as harmful to, 7, 153

  dancing by, 58, 130

  death rate of, 23, 49

  defensive posture of, 31, 80

  developmental stages of, 64

  diseases of, 7, 37, 70, 71–74, 76, 77, 86, 124, 128

  drone, 20, 56, 93–94, 112, 113, 114, 118

  evolution of, 49, 86

  fear of, 7, 32, 48, 101, 129

  feeding of, 13, 51, 68–69, 74–76, 108–9, 115, 118

  flies mistaken for, 67

  flight paths of, 17

  foraging flights of, 22, 53, 70, 102–3, 109, 110, 143, 160–61

  genetic material of, 92–93

  guard, 22, 23, 113–14, 144

  hairs of, 65

  hearing lacked by, 82, 144

  heat generated by, 49–51

  hived vs. wild, 5, 72

  house, 65, 70, 155

  hybrid, 107, 117, 118

  instars of, 64

  Italian race of, 11, 107, 132

  larvae of, 18, 64, 65, 71–72, 77, 112, 122, 137, 149

  literature on, 52–60

  manipulation of, 75–76, 110

  “maps” learned by, 28, 107, 129, 130

  medications for, 53, 70, 71–72, 73–74, 79, 82, 90

  metabolism of, 47, 49

  moods of, 102–3, 106, 117, 129, 143–44, 161

  movement as perceived by, 88

  name of, 11, 107

  Nassanoff glands of, 131

  nurse, 64, 65

  ovaries of, 111

  package, 37, 40, 98–99, 100–101, 108, 109–10, 117–18, 132, 133–36

  pesticides as harmful to, 67, 130, 136–39, 141, 148

  plants poisonous to, 148–49

  pollen “baskets” of, 65, 69

  pollination by, 3–4, 20, 65, 69, 89

  population of, 18, 23, 116

  predators of, 46, 82

  proboscises of, 48

  protein needs of, 64, 65–66

  pupation of, 65, 91, 113

  queenery, 98–99, 100–101, 108, 109–10

  races of, 11, 107, 132

  robber, 18, 19, 22, 72, 81

  scout, 129, 130

  shade needed by, 109

  shapes of, 103–4, 112

  stingers of, 31, 144, 161

  sugar concentrations detected by, 160–61

  survival strategies for, 19

  tactile communication by, 111, 130

  talking to, 82

 
temperature levels and, 47–48, 49, 50–51, 75, 94, 101, 142

  types of, 67

  “unlearning” by, 129

  vision of, 30–31, 88–89

  waste products of, 47–48

  water needed by, 109

  wax glands of, 155

  weak colonies of, 17–20, 80, 128

  weather conditions and, 143–44

  as wild animals, 110, 149–50

  wings of, 67, 131, 142, 149, 153

  winter stores of, 6, 16, 46, 49, 50, 51, 81, 160

  worker, 18, 20, 78, 91, 92, 109, 110, 111–12, 113

  see also hives; queen bees

  bee space, 9–11, 13, 79–80, 104, 105, 128

  beeswax, 17, 18, 158

  sheets of, 8–9, 13, 39, 44–46, 80, 134, 168

  beeyards:

  climate differences in, 53, 76

  home, 106

  location of, 3, 4, 7, 8, 76, 83, 118–19

  productivity of, 4, 8

  visits to, 76–79, 83, 88

  Bell, Adrian, 75–76

  Beltsville Bee Laboratory, 73

  benzaldehyde, 164

  Better Farming, 157

  birds, 97–98

  bitterweed (Helenium amarum tenuifolum), 149

  blackberries, 27, 47, 70, 110, 115–16, 118, 119, 120, 122, 149, 156

  blackberry winter, 115–16

  black nightshade (Solarium nigrum), 148

  Black Orpheus, 58

  black raspberry, 119

  bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), 83

  blue-winged warblers, 98

  Bread and Butter Rebellion (1828), 12

  bridal bush, 90

  brood:

  diseases of, 7, 71–72, 74, 77, 86, 137

  frames for, 65–66, 78, 79, 80, 82, 104, 105, 112, 114

  brush cutters, 141, 144, 165

  buckwheat, 156

  bumblebees, 89, 172

  Butler, Charles, 55–56, 158

  butyric anhydride, 164, 165

  calcium absorption, 158

  California buckeye (Aesculus californica), 148

  carbohydrates, 49, 64

  carpentry, 14, 24–25, 40

  Caruso, Enrico, 158

  catkins, 64

  Caucasian bees, 107

  centrifugal spinners, 167

  Cerberus, 59

  Chalk Brood, 77, 83

  Cherry Tree, The (Bell), 75–76

  cherry trees, 66

  chickens, wax-moth larvae eaten by, 87

  cicadas, 139–41

  citrus flowers, 133

  classical mythology, 53–55, 58–60, 148, 158

  cleansing flights, 47–48

  climate, 51–52, 53, 132–33

  clover, 3–4, 27, 149, 156

  Ladino, 142

  sweet, 142–43

  white-blossomed, 142–43

  clusters, bee, 51, 81, 104, 130

  cockroaches, 18, 82, 86, 156

  cocoons, bee, 65

  Columella, 55

  comb honey, 39, 133

  commercial operations, 20, 22, 51–52, 88, 110, 133

  communication, bee, 58, 111, 130

  copperheads, 172

  Cornell University, 12

  coveralls, bee, 7, 29–30

  cowbirds, 152

  cows, protection from, 8, 46

  creosote, 42

  Cretaceous era, 49

  crib death, 158

  crocuses, 65

  crop spraying, 136–39

  crystallization, honey, 156, 169

  Cuevas de la Arena, 49

  cypress lumber, 13

  Cyrene, 59–60

  daffodils, 65, 69–70, 83

  Dahl, Roald, 150

  Dancing Bees, The (von Frisch), 58, 130

  dandelion, 133

  death camas (Zygadenus venenosus), 148

  “devil chaser,” 154–55

  dewberries, 70, 119

  dextrose, 155, 156

  “different bloods,” 149–50

  diploid cells, 92

  Diptera order, 67

  diseases, bee, 7, 37, 70, 71–74, 76, 77, 86, 124, 128

  see also specific diseases

  dodder (Cuscuta spp.), 148

  dogwood, 114

  donor hives, 51, 105

  drone gut, 94

  drones, 20, 56, 93–94, 112, 113, 114, 118

  Dutchman’s-breeches, 89

  eggs:

  cells for, 112

  laying worker, 111–12

  of queen bee, 49, 65, 78, 91, 92–93, 99, 105, 106, 108, 120–23, 132, 149

  sterile, 112

  electric wire embedders, 45

  end bars, 43

  entomology, 24, 57, 93

  entrance reducers, 23–24

  enzymes, 155

  equipment, beekeeping, 7, 38–46

  Erickson, Eric H., 57, 88

  Essex County (Mass.) Agricultural Society, 86

  European Foulbrood, 72

  Eurydice, 59, 60

  extension agents, 138

  extracted honey, 39, 133, 165–69

  federal bee laboratories, 57, 72, 73

  feeders, trough, 13, 39, 74–75, 102, 132, 134

  feeding of bees, 13, 51, 68–69, 74–76, 108–9, 115, 118

  Feminine Monarchic, written out of Experience, The (Butler), 56

  fescue, 27

  filberts, 63

  fire bush, 90

  flies, bee-mimicking, 67

  flowering quince (Chemoneles sinensis), 90

  flowers:

  color of, 88–89

  poisonous, 148–49

  pollination of, 3–4, 20, 65, 69, 89

  types of, 27, 88–89, 114–15

  see also specific flowers

  fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), 47, 89–90, 145

  frame grips, 11, 16, 18, 38, 78, 103

  frames:

  assembling of, 43–46

  brood, 65–66, 78, 79, 80, 82, 104, 105, 112, 114

  jigs for, 43–44

  movable, 9–11

  number of, 39

  parts of, 43–44

  queen, 100

  queen excluders for, 120–23

  split-bottom, 43

  wax foundations for, 8–9, 13, 39, 44–46, 80, 134, 168

  wire for, 39, 44–46

  Free, J. B., 111

  frosts, 6

  fruit trees, 27, 66, 137

  full-depth supers, 9

  fume boards, 163, 164, 165

  fumigating supers, 120, 163, 164, 165, 171–72

  fungi, 72, 77

  gauntlets, bee, 7, 15–16, 38–39

  genetics, 92–93

  Georgics (Virgil), 53–55

  Gleanings in Bee Culture, 38, 147

  “goat’s death,” 148

  golden rod, 6

  goldfinches, 152

  Gould, J. L., 57

  grasshoppers, 138

  great crested flycatchers, 120

  guard bees, 22, 23, 113–14, 144

  Hades, 59

  hangovers, 158

  haploid cells, 93

  hardware cloth, 32

  hay fever, 65, 159

  hazel (Corylus americana), 63

  hazelnut, 51

  health-food industry, 64–65, 150

  helmets, 7, 38–39

  hemoglobin count, 158

  henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), 66

  herbal remedies, 154–55

  herbicides, 136

  hexagonal honeycomb-cell pattern, 9, 13

  Hive and the Honeybee, The (Langstroth), 11, 57

  hive bodies:

  covered, 134, 136

  painting of, 42–43

  queen excluders for, 120–21

  removal of, 102, 104

  rotation of, 79–80

  stacked, 8–9, 13

  for swarms, 131

  ten-frame, 9, 13

  hives:

  assembling of, 38–46

  bacteria in, 7, 71–72, 74

&nb
sp; boards underneath, 7, 17

  bodies of, 8–9, 13, 39, 42–43, 79–80, 102, 104, 120–21, 131, 134, 136

  bottoms for, 13, 39, 40–42, 43, 134

  clearing around, 141, 144

  color of, 42

  combining of, 20–23, 113–14, 116–19

  disruption of, 29–30, 68, 80–81, 82, 102–3, 107, 114

  division of, 80, 128

  donor, 51, 105

  drafts in, 16

  entrance of, 17, 18, 23–24, 32, 131

  established, 37

  fastening of, 28–29, 32

  feeders for, 13, 39, 74–75, 102, 132, 134

  fences for, 8, 46

  foreign material in, 22

  forward tilt to, 81, 109

  fumigation of, 120, 163, 164, 165, 171–72

  handgrips on, 17

  inner cover of, 13–14, 17, 39, 42, 77

  laying worker, 110–14

  moisture level of, 7, 153

  moving of, 27–29, 32–34, 132–33

  nails for, 39, 41–42, 44

  nucleus, 99, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 113–14, 115, 117, 118, 133–34

  number of, 33, 39, 40, 80, 144–45

  odor of, 6–7

  over-cover for, 39

  painting of, 42–43

  parts of, 7, 9–11, 13–14

  pests in, 46, 82, 87, 156

  plundered, 18, 19, 22, 72, 77, 81

  population of, 23, 49

  position of, 47, 81, 109

  productivity of, 4, 8, 18–19, 27, 46–47, 68, 77, 90, 114, 116

  queen excluders for, 120–23

  queenless, 22–23, 40, 110–14

  queenright, 40, 108, 111, 112

  rotting of, 7, 13, 27, 33

  screens for, 32

  sealing of, 16

  selling of, 5–6, 8, 28–29

  starter, 39, 108–9, 132, 133–36

  telescoping cover for, 14, 27, 39, 42, 43, 46, 77

  temperature of, 47–51, 75, 94, 101, 142, 167

  temporary, 100

  two-story, 33

  ventilation holes of, 14, 23, 32–33, 42, 105, 115, 131, 153, 155

  weak, 20–23

  weight of, 33

  wind protection for, 77

  see also frames; supers

  hive staples, 28

  hive tool, 16, 17, 18, 38, 78, 102, 103

  Hodge, C. F., 78

  honey:

  allergic response to, 148

  antibacterial qualities of, 158

  as anti-freeze, 157

  ash content of, 156

  aster, 6–7, 16, 51

  baking with, 157

  bitter, 149

  blackberry, 120, 122, 149, 156

  buckwheat, 156

  clover, 3–4, 142–43, 149, 156

  color of, 156

  comb, 39, 133

  composition of, 155–56

  contamination of, 74, 137, 147–48

  crystallization of, 156, 169

  extracted, 39, 133, 165–69

  facts about, 155–60

  flavor of, 156

  foreign, 142

  green, 148

  harvesting of, 19, 136, 142–43, 145, 150, 161–73

  as “health food,” 150